High School Athlete of the Week

Is there a hotter distance runner in the country than Sandie Raines? The 17-year-old Kingwood High School senior from Texas has set a string of victorious personal bests in the last several weeks, topping off her streak last Saturday with a near-PR for 3200m at the Texas Relays. Raines, bound for Arkansas, ran 10:18.98 at the University of Texas in Austin to defeat a deep field that saw 14 girls break 11 minutes. Raines’ time was just short of the 10:15.34 best she set in February. She’s now training for the Texas state meet on May 10-11.

PR machine: In addition to her 3200, Raines has set recent bests in the 1500 (4:28.79), mile (4:53.14) and 3,000 (9:35.51).

Negative splits: In her 10:15.34 3200 PR, Raines ran the first 1600 in 5:09 and the second 1600 in 5:06.

Big base: Raines attributes her recent success to her huge base going back to last summer for the cross country season. “I trained a lot over the summer and I think it took awhile to show,” Raines said. She logged 60 to 70 miles a week, usually in two-a-day workouts, while also doing weight training, yoga and some swimming. One key workout was 5 x 1000 at 5K race pace, made that much tougher by the Texas heat.

All-American: Raines’ long months of work paid dividends, as she placed 11th at Foot Locker nationals last December in San Diego and was one of the few athletes in the country to compete at both Foot Locker and Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). Like many competitors, Raines, 5-foot-4 and 99 pounds, was not at her best in the extreme mud in Portland, placing 32nd at NXN.

Fast workouts: One recent quality session that told Raines she was in great shape consisted of a 3-mile tempo run, 3-minute rest, then a 10:50 2-mile. “It felt good,” she said.

Speed to burn: Last week, on the Monday before Texas Relays, Raines ran what Kingwood calls “Oregon 4s and 2s.” She did a 400 at current mile race pace, then 7 x 400 at mile goal pace; after a short break, she did 4 x 200. Raines’ 400 times were 69-70; her 200s were 30-32. She took a 1:50 rest between 400s; the rest will be reduced in future workouts.

On the road: In a local 5K in early February, Raines ran 18:13. Out of a field of 1,400 runners, she was outrun by only four men.

State champs: With all her honors, Raines has never won a state title, facing many national-class opponents in Texas track and cross country. Last year, she placed third in the state 1600. Last fall, she was second in state 5A cross country. This season, as a senior, Raines hopes to emerge victorious in the 1600 and/or 3200. Raines was not sure if she would then plan for post-season events or end her season at state and start preparing for college.

Razorbacks: Raines looked at Colorado, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Rice in addition to Arkansas. She went with the Razorbacks because of long-time women’s coach Lance Harter, who has consistently developed great teams over the years, and whom Raines described as “an awesome guy.”

Summer service: In the summer of 2011, Raines took a life-altering three-week trip to Peru in the “STRIVE” program that is part running camp and part community service in a needy area around the world. Raines raised funds for her trip and for donations to the impoverished region in Peru. She was part of a group of 14 young runners from around the U.S. and one from Japan. Raines and her campmates served at a school and orphanage. They also had a training center nearby with a dirt track. The camp was situated at 8,000 feet. “I kept up my mileage,” said Raines, “but once I tried a tempo run and I’d never been that close to thinking that I was going to die.”

Medical missionary: Raines’ experience in Peru fortified her passion for helping others. An honors student taking A.P. classes, Raines plans to be a pre-med major at Arkansas and hopes to eventually be a part of a charitable organization like Doctors without Borders.

Webmaster mom: Raines has her own website, www.runsandie.com, which chronicles her exploits on and off the track. Sandie said the idea came from her mother, Rhonda, who wanted to keep family members apprised of Sandie’s achievements and serves as the site’s webmaster.